This paper has four major objectives. The first is to describe and discuss the antecedents to the streamlining movement. The second is to describe and discuss the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) and the agreement that the SSTP produced (the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement or SSUTA). The third is to examine how political and economic forces have shaped, and continue to shape, the streamlining movement. The fourth isto explore briefly whether streamlining, or the lessons learned from streamlining, might serve as a platform or template for more fundamental sales tax reform. It should be cautioned that the SSTP is still a work in progress. Nevertheless, because of the enormous potential significance of the SSTP, we welcome the opportunity to undertake a general — if somewhat tentative — exploration of the political economy of streamlining.